business sentiment survey 15
• Staff recruitment – are you planning on increasing, maintaining or reducing your staff headcount in quarter 3?
Increase headcount 50%
• Over the next 12 months do you have any plans to: a) Secure funding for future growth
YES 24% NO 55%
DON’T KNOW 21%
A quarter (24%) of respondents have plans to secure funding for future growth over the next 12 months.
Maintain current levels 42%
b) Acquire (or merge with) another business YES 37%
Reduce headcount 8%
Half of respondents are planning on recruiting new staff in Q3. Only 8% will be reducing headcount in Q3.
YES 8%
• What keeps you awake at night?
What is your single biggest concern/priority/ challenge for your business?
The most frequently mentioned concern for survey respondents is the attraction, recruitment and retention of good quality staff with the right ”skills, drive and enthusiasm required to take the business forward”. This was mentioned by 20% of respondents.
A lack of funding and obtaining funding/capital to enable survival was also one of the major concerns – albeit only mentioned by 10% of respondents.
Making efficiency improvements and turning around orders fast enough was also a concern for 10% of respondents.
The next three concerns – mentioned by 8% of respondents – were holding on to and winning new customers; maintaining or increasing margins; and trying to stay ahead of the competition.
Other concerns mentioned by respondents include:
• The state of the economy
• Lack of government investment in infrastructure
• Potentially leaving the EU
• Managing change and employee engagement levels during M&A activity
• Keeping staff motivated and engaged during a transition period while our business is taken over
• Growth of cyber-crime, identity theft, hacking into email accounts
• Stakeholder engagement • Cost of national insurance
• Lack of broadband in my village which affects several self-employed and small businesses.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – SEPTEMBER 2015 11% 37% 8% 8% 5% 16% 5% 10%
More than one third (37%) of respondents said that the one thing the Government could do to help their business would be to tackle skills shortages through further incentives on apprenticeships, education funding etc.
www.businessmag.co.uk
Improve comms speeds
(broadband, mobile etc)
Improve
infrastructure (roads, rail etc)
Reduce
Corporation Tax
Reduce red tape and
bureaucracy
Reduce business rates
Reduce employers NI NO 89%
Only 8% have any plans to sell their business over the next 12 months. d) Take your product/services into new markets
YES 63% NO 24%
DON’T KNOW 13%
Almost two thirds (63%) of respondents have plans to take their products/services into new markets over the next 12 months.
• If the Government could do one thing to help your business, what would it be? Tackle skills shortages
through further incentives on apprenticeships, education funding etc
Other:
Maintain recent introduced
pension freedoms
Reduction in NI costs
Spend more on defence
Facilitate
development in the rest of the UK to help address the
imbalance caused by London’s dominant position
Review the application of employment tribunal fees
D K 3%
NO 45%
DON’T KNOW 18%
More than a third (37%) have plans to acquire or merge with another business over the next 12 months.
c) Sell your business
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